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Rod Gilbert
Canadian | birth_date = July 1,1941 | birth_place = Montreal, PQ Canada | career_start = 1960 | career_end = 1978 | halloffame = 1982 | website = http://www.rodgilbert.com }} Rodrigue Gabriel Gilbert (born July 1, 1941 in Montreal, Quebec) is a retired Canadian professional forward who played for the New York Rangers in the National Hockey League. He played right wing on the GAG (goal-a-game) line that also featured Vic Hadfield and Jean Ratelle. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1982, and was the first player in New York Rangers history to have his number retired. Rod currently works for the New York Rangers Organization. Playing career During the 1959–60 OHA season, he slipped on some garbage strewn onto the ice and fell back into the boards. He broke the fifth verterbra in his back and doctors were worried they might have to amputate his legs when blood clots ensued. Gilbert started his career with the Rangers after finishing his junior career with the Guelph Royals during the 1960–61 season. It did not take long for Gilbert to become popular with the Garden faithful, and he did not disappoint as he rose in prominence as an NHL star. However, it was not without pain. In 1965–66, his career was nearly derailed when he went through a second spinal fusion operation. This surgery was performed by Dr. Kazuo Yanagisawa. He lost half a season, but he bounced back with a strong season in 1966–1967. On February 24, 1968, he established himself as a bona fide NHL star as he scored four goals in a game against the Montreal Canadiens. It was stardom from there. The Ratelle-Hadfield-Gilbert line, called the GAG (Goal-A-Game) line, would terrorize enemy goaltenders for years. He was with Team Canada when they took on the Soviets in the 1972 Summit Series. He won the Bill Masterton Trophy in 1976 for his perseverance regarding his back troubles. At the beginning of the 1977–78 NHL season, Gilbert and Rangers' General Manager John Ferguson got into a contract dispute. When Gilbert finally returned to play, he was no longer the Gilbert of old. He retired after 19 seasons, having never led the Rangers to a Stanley Cup. His number 7 was retired by the Rangers on October 14, 1979. Awards *Named to the NHL Second All-Star Team (1967–68) *Named to the NHL First All-Star Team (1971–72) *Won Bill Masterton Trophy (1976) *Won Lester Patrick Trophy (1991) *Played in NHL All-Star Game (1964, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1975, 1977) *Inducted in NHL Hall of Fame 1982 Records *New York Rangers team record for career goals (406) *New York Rangers team record for career points (1021) *Shares New York Rangers team record for assists in one game (5 three times) Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1960–61 New York Rangers NHL 1 0 1 1 2 - - - - - 1961–62 New York Rangers NHL 1 0 0 0 0 4 2 3 5 4 1962–63 New York Rangers NHL 70 11 20 31 20 - - - - - 1963–64 New York Rangers NHL 70 24 40 64 62 - - - - - 1964–65 New York Rangers NHL 70 25 36 61 52 - - - - - 1965–66 New York Rangers NHL 34 10 15 25 20 - - - - - 1966–67 New York Rangers NHL 64 28 18 46 12 4 2 2 4 6 1967–68 New York Rangers NHL 73 29 48 77 12 6 5 0 5 4 1968–69 New York Rangers NHL 66 28 49 77 22 4 1 0 1 2 1969–70 New York Rangers NHL 72 16 37 53 22 6 4 5 9 0 1970–71 New York Rangers NHL 78 30 31 61 65 13 4 6 10 8 1971–72 New York Rangers NHL 73 43 54 97 64 16 7 8 15 11 1972–73 New York Rangers NHL 76 25 59 84 25 10 5 1 6 2 1973–74 New York Rangers NHL 75 36 41 77 20 13 3 5 8 4 1974–75 New York Rangers NHL 76 36 61 97 22 3 1 3 4 2 1975–76 New York Rangers NHL 70 36 50 86 32 - - - - - 1976–77 New York Rangers NHL 77 27 48 75 50 - - - - - 1977–78 New York Rangers NHL 19 2 7 9 6 - - - - - 18 Seasons Career NHL 1065 406 615 1021 508 79 34 33 67 43 International play *Member of Team Canada in the 1972 Summit Series. *Member of Team Canada in the 1977 World Championships International Statistics See also *Magazine covers External links *Rod Gilbert's official web site * Category:Born in 1941 Category:Bill Masterton Trophy winners Category:Canadian ice hockey players Category:Guelph Biltmores alumni Category:Guelph Royals alumni Category:Hockey Hall of Fame Category:Lester Patrick Trophy recipients Category:New York Rangers players Category:National Hockey League players with retired numbers Category:NHL All-Stars Category:Retired in 1978 Category:Kitchener-Waterloo Beavers players Category:Trois-Rivières Lions players Category:1972 Team Canada players